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During my half term, I visited Reading Museum, to explore some of the Art through history, and in the modern day. Here’s what I found out.
Historical Art
There was a gallery at Reading Museum about several artefacts that have been found in Reading. One of these is a replica of the famous Bayeux tapestry, which tells the story of William the Conqueror, and his invasion of England in 1066. Although this replica was made by 35 members of the Leek Embroidery Society in 1886, the original was made by embroiderers from Kent in the late 11th century. I found out that the tapestry contains 190 horses, 33 buildings, 57 Latin inscriptions and 626 people!
There were also some pencil landscapes of places in Reading. They were extremely detailed, and I could definitely recognise some of the areas in these paintings, but it was also strange how much Reading has changed, and what has stayed the same.
There were also some portraits of historical figures who had some sort of connection to Reading. One of these was George Lovejoy, a printer, publisher and owner of his own library, which was one the largest libraries outside of London. There was also a portrait of Mary R Mitford, an author who wrote several books based in places in Reading. One of her most famous books was set in Three Mile Cross.
More Recent Art
There were also a couple of more recent pieces of Art. One of my favourites was Light from the north, part of the series Through as glass darkly, by Cornelia Parker. At first, I thought this piece was a painting or a pencil sketch, but it turns out this is an etching! I was surprised at this, as I didn't think you could get so much detail from etching. The pieces in this series reflect her interests in the techniques of early photographer William Morris, who also had a studio in Reading.
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